AL.com Opinion

One of the great ironies of Alabama is that the state's
deeply flawed and racist 1901 Constitution actually got one thing right in
Article 1, Section 3 by clearly defining the necessary separation of church and
state. It's ironic insofar as modern conservative and religious extremists have
spent years selectively revising history in an attempt to convince people that
Alabama is a Christian state and that the United States is a Christian nation.

Yet, the separation of church and state is often
misunderstood because it is deceitfully mischaracterized as some sort of
punitive measure against religion or a barrier to an individual's right to
exercise their freedom of religion. However, it serves to protect religious
freedom and an individual's choice to worship or not worship in the manner they
see fit.

In truth, it is this very separation that allows a diversity
of religions to flourish in our country because the state has no authority to
promote or endorse any one of them over another. It also explicitly protects a
person's right to not participate in religion at all.

As Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson said, "It does me no
injury for my neighbor to say that there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither
picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."

Perennially, the controversy over the separation of church
and state in Alabama has been mostly instigated by Christian Evangelicals who
feel compelled to proselytize and to legislate their narrow interpretation of
morality and behavior. This is not only wrong, but it is an explicit violation
of the Constitutions of Alabama and the United States.

These efforts are nothing more than a blatant attack on our
liberties and serve to do nothing more than cause the state to spend millions
to lose lawsuit after lawsuit.

This is why religious leaders, politicians, and political
activists throughout Alabama will be converging at the Alabama State Capitol on
May 3rd at 1pm for a rally called, "Alabama for Secular Government."

The rally is not a celebration of atheism nor is it a
condemnation of evangelical religions. It is, however, an earnest plea for
Alabama legislators to honor the U.S. Constitution by upholding the First
Amendment's Establishment Clause. It is also intended to educate the religious
community on how the separation of church and state actually safeguards
collective and individual expressions of religion along with the choice to not
worship at all.

Sadly, the rally is necessary to stop people like AL Supreme
Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, AL Sen. Shadrack McGill, and AL Sen. Gerald Dial
from turning Alabama into a theocracy. Hopefully, it will also send a message
to local politicians like Madison County Commission Chairman, Dale Strong, to
stop opening secular government meetings with a prayer. It's wholly unnecessary
and serves to divide people rather than unite them. It represents the worst
type of political pandering and shameless affectation. Voters aren't paying you
to pray, Dale, they're paying you to handle our county business. Pray on your
own time, please.

The separation of church and state ensures tolerance,
diversity, and respect. When the lines become blurred, it does nothing more
than foster self-righteousness, discrimination, and theocratic tyranny.

Our Founding Fathers clearly understood the complex and
highly personal nature of faith and the social construct of organized religion
and wisely decided that these matters be decided by individuals and not
mandated by the government.

The great hypocrisy here is the anguished outcry from
"religious right" legislators against Sharia Law; while they work tirelessly to
turn Alabama into a theocracy. Perhaps, they ought to focus on bringing jobs to
Alabama or ensuring all citizens have access to affordable healthcare.

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